Beauty and Her Beast

Christian was amazed; the girl had not cringed at the sight of him. Granted he had employed a high collared cloak and a bit of magic to conceal his face and diminish his true size, but she had not been afraid of him. It had been so long since anyone had looked at him without cringing in fear. He’d forgotten what it was like.

Not only that, but she had thought to offer him a meal. It had been his intent to meet her this way, to gauge whether he had been a fool to let her father live and take her into his home instead, now he was conflicted.

After seeing how pale and bedraggled she was, he had been sure she was too plain to be of any use to him. He had in fact been about to turn and take her back to her father when she had gone to such lengths as to make sure he had a meal.

Him, someone she thought was a servant and stranger. Now he wasn’t sure.

She’d smiled at him. It had been so long since he had seen anyone smile….

‘Damn,’ he thought to himself. ‘I should just take her back and be done with it.’

At that moment, Anna’s handkerchief fluttered loose from the bundle she’d given him, and as he snatched it out of the air, he put it to his nose and inhaled her scent. Despite her grimy clothes and calloused hands, this small piece of fabric was spotless and smelled of lavender.

Shaking his head, he whipped the horses on, on to his cursed castle, on to the unknown, on and on and on.

Feeling the veil that kept his lands cloaked from the world, Christian cringed, hating the feeling it gave him when they passed through it.

With its passing, he felt his disguise melt away.

'Damn,' he thought, looking back over his shoulder toward the cab.

Using his inner eye, he could see that its occupant was asleep, her head gently bouncing as they rolled down the overgrown road.

Keeping a wary eye on the woods on either side of him, he tried to hurry the horses hoping he didn't encounter anything too dangerous.

The forest surround his home was teeming with creatures the world had long forgotten, and while he could handle them one at a time if he ran into a group of them he didn't know if he could protect himself and his passenger.